Eagles pass-rush future could be now with Graham

The Eagles Brandon Graham (55) flushes Seattles Russell Wilson (3) out of the pocket during Sunday's game against the Seahawks at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The Eagles Brandon Graham (55) flushes Seattles Russell Wilson (3) out of the pocket during Sunday's game against the Seahawks at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (CHRIS SHIPLEY, SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL)

Eagles could be providing a glimpse of future by starting Graham on Saturday.

PHILADELPHIA — In his transformation from defensive end to outside linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles, Brandon Graham has gone from being in the wrong place at the wrong time to holding extreme leverage in his next contract negotiation, which already has begun.

So pay particular attention to that position on Saturday, when the Eagles visit the Washington Redskins. Graham will get his first start since the end of 2012, when he had finally broken in as a starter under the team's third defensive line coach and coordinator since he had been drafted two years earlier.

Graham proved he could get to the quarterback in that system, and over time has proved the same as an outside linebacker in the Eagles' 3-4 that was installed by coach Chip Kelly last year.

Because of that, the age and contract of current starter Trent Cole, who likely is done for the year after breaking his hand in last Sunday night's loss to Dallas, and the arrested development of this year's first-round pick Marcus Smith, Graham suddenly is looking like a player of great value just months after being on the trade market.

Graham ranks fourth on the team with 5.5 sacks, right behind Cole (6.5). Considering he's played just 39 percent of the defensive snaps, that figure is immense.

Cole will turn 33 next season, when his base salary jumps from $5 million to $10 million, and defensive coordinator Billy Davis admitted this week that Smith's future might not even be on the outside anymore. There's a strong possibility neither will be part of the picture in 2015.

That leaves Graham, who is playing out the final year of his rookie contract, in position to drop the hammer with a big game against the Redskins on Saturday and another to close out the regular season against the New York Giants eight days later.

It's why the Eagles, according to sources, already have approached him about locking in for the next four or five years and why the smile that's always on Graham's face is just a little bit more intense these days.

Playing under his second head coach, fourth defensive coordinator and fourth position coach in five seasons, Graham appears to finally have found his niche and wants to follow in the footsteps of Cole.

"He didn't start right away for them," Graham said of Cole, "but once he got his opportunity, bam! He wasn't looking back. That's what I'm trying to do."

Graham can't believe all the twists and turns that have brought him to this point.

"It's crazy," he said. "I mean, just stay ready. I was happy that I was already in the mix, in the plan."

Smith will be worth paying attention to as well when he comes in to spell Graham. Drafted 26th overall in May, Smith has been shuffled back and forth between outside and inside due to injuries to teammates ahead of him on the depth chart. He remains buried, much the way Graham was early in his pro career.

What the Eagles are desperately hoping to see from him in these last two games is a glimmer of hope that he can succeed Graham as the third outside linebacker in the rotation next season. Nobody has seen that yet.

Smith has played in just eight games and has a total of one assisted tackle in 68 total snaps with the defense. His reps have been mostly mental.

"When you're on the sideline during games, you have to make sure you get the call, kind of go through it in your mind when the play is happening, even in practice," Smith said. "That's exactly what I did, so whenever my number is called, just like now, then I'm ready to go."

Smith describes his confidence as "real high, just because I've been learning … how to cope with everything that's been going on. I just think this is a real positive for me."

Davis was cautious when projecting where Smith fits in next year and beyond, but it's clear he and the organization want him to show he can play outside as a dependable pass rusher, because that's why he was drafted so high.

"I would say [he projects] outside first, but I still think the jury's out on him," Davis said. "I like some flashes he has had inside when he understands it. That's the thing that's tough: we're just understanding. When a player really understands his role and how to do it, he plays faster. You see [ILB] Mychal Kendricks, and he's getting better and better; he is understanding and all of a sudden that athleticism is now showing. At first it wasn't because he was thinking.

"So, right now as you judge Marcus, you have to slow down the judgment a little bit and say, 'We moved him, so where is his understanding? Let's see how good he can be at this.' "

If they can just get him close to where Graham was at the start of last season, it would be encouraging progress they could take with them into the offseason, when personnel adjustments will be required one way or another.